Fixes July 29 hearing over Abuja property dispute
The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has rejected an application seeking the dismissal of a petition accusing Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, and two other lawyers of alleged professional misconduct linked to a disputed Abuja property transaction.
The Committee made the decision during its sitting on Friday and subsequently fixed July 29 for the substantive hearing of the matter.
The petition, identified as BB/LPDC/760/2022, was filed by Kingsley Aneubuna against Ezechukwu, Smart Ukpanah, and Hope Onyekwere.
At the resumed proceedings, counsel representing Ezechukwu, D.O. Okolo, requested that the panel strike out the petition, stating that the petitioner had expressed an intention to withdraw the case. Okolo argued that despite being aware of the proceedings, Aneubuna failed to appear before the Committee to pursue his petition.
However, LPDC panel Chairman, Kalu Umeh, dismissed the request, explaining that the Committee’s rules do not permit a petition to be withdrawn once parties have joined issues in the matter.
According to Umeh, the panel is obligated to continue with the proceedings by relying on the documents and processes already submitted by the petitioner.
The petition stems from a disputed transaction involving Plot 713, Cadastral Zone B14, Dutse District, Abuja, which is also the subject of an ongoing case before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
Aneubuna alleged that in 2018, he agreed to purchase a terrace duplex on the property for N51 million after Ezechukwu allegedly assured him that the property’s title was free from any legal encumbrances.
He claimed that he later discovered the property was already involved in pending litigation and that a court injunction had been issued before the transaction was completed.
The petitioner further alleged that Ukpanah included him as a claimant in the court case without his knowledge or approval, while Onyekwere allegedly testified on his behalf without obtaining his consent.
Additionally, Aneubuna accused Ezechukwu of presenting an allegedly forged copy of the sale agreement and knowingly misrepresenting the legal status of the property despite the ongoing court proceedings.
He therefore urged the LPDC to investigate the lawyers over allegations of professional misconduct.
Following the Committee’s refusal to dismiss the petition, the matter is now set to proceed to a substantive hearing on July 29.
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